The Burrow

The pre-wedding landscaping project we undertook last week has prompted today's Shopping Secrets for gardeners.  I use we  loosely.... very loosely, in fact.  The plants were provided and planted and irrigated by the fine folks from Rillito Nursery . Beth, manager and proprietor and all around swell human being,  helped me chose the plants and the guys installed them to our specifications.  We only changed our minds a couple of times, and always before the holes were dug.  There was transplanting of some existing specimens and removal of others and a whole new section of irrigation tubing was uncovered by Juan's tender ministrations and firm desire not to give up. In the end, it looks beautiful.  I will have the screening from the street that I wanted and TBG can have a squared off hedge of rosemary as soon as these babies grow to maturity next spring.  There will be pictures once it settles down and starts to grow. Rillito has walls and ...

Penguin and BlogHer Book Club sent me a copy of this book.  I am being paid to review it.  As always, the opinions are my own and are influenced by nothing more than the sound of my own thoughts. Lunch Wars  has a Preface and an Introduction before it gets down to the nitty gritty on page 15.  I have 3 post-its marking things I want to remember in those preliminary pages, and each one of them relates to doing something now . There's a list of diet related issues and their disastrous effects on children's health that covers more than 2 pages; I couldn't believe it when I turned the page and there were more bullet points over which I could cringe. Her political agenda is made clear in the beginning, too:  Big Food (like Big Pharma, I guess) has put the burden on kids to move around and learn to eat well while offering to fill their little bellies with sweetened, unhealthy, too big choices. Parents are indicted along with television and un-responsive school d...

Don't tell Little Cuter or SIR, but there is lightning in the cloudy sky right now. If today were their wedding day we'd be in deep doo-doo. The sun tried valiantly for a while but ultimately it was unsuccessful Those black bottoms to the fluffiness above them?  That's rain, pooling up and getting ready to drop on my head. And so we waited and I fretted. What would we do?   Where would we go? Why was it threatening to rain in late September? Then I walked to the back of the house and saw this Where was the threatening sky? What was all this blueness doing up there? There were certainly some clouds. but I had to do some turning and tele-photo-ing to get anything worth worrying about. And then the sun set and poked me right in the eye. and this was the result. Not a bad backdrop for a wedding. Not bad at all. I think I am going to stop worrying and start enjoying.

She's sleeping later and going to bed earlier.  Her chocolate is lasting longer because she seems to be eating less and less.  I'm not sure she remembers my name. I read a book about old New York and I wanted to ask her if she remembered the Collyer brothers and their reclusive life on Upper 5th Avenue.  I couldn't remember if it was Ezio Pinza or Mario Lanza she'd seen on Broadway in South Pacific; I almost dialed the phone to ask. A fellow resident of her pod-castle wandered into her apartment.  She became terrified  according to the report, and called 9-1-1 to report an intruder.  I'm glad she has her self-protective skills at the ready, but I wonder if I should reverse 6 months of coaxing her to keep her door open and just shut it when I leave her in the morning. Should I make myself go over every morning?  She's adorable lying in bed, snug as a bug in a rug, blankets held securely under her chin.  Her face is peaceful; without her glass...

The sky could not have been bluer.   The playground couldn't have been prettier.... or safer. That's 4' of blue safety material approved by the Injury Free Coalition for Kids.  . No one is going to get hurt here.   First responders were recognized and admired by schoolchildren.   Invited guests sat under the Saturday morning sun as sponsors were congratulated and thanked. As always, there were cameras.   It left little time for quiet reflection. Ron Barber thanked the Greens for giving us Christina-Taylor, complimenting them on the wonderfulness that is their family and their strength and their understanding.  More than a few people took out the tissues. Then, with cameras as accompaniment, Christina-Taylor's big brother cut the ribbon as his mom held it tight, just as she holds both of her children tight within her heart. And the fun began. That's Mr. 6 in the orange shirt.   This patriotic student took CTG's legacy to heart and was...

Stationary is my favorite gift - both to receive and to give.  I love the notion of  something permanent being penned.  I love the thought of the writing, the re-reading, the folding, the stuffing, the licking and the sticking.  I love writing the notes and reading the ones you've written to me. Here are some of my favorite places to purchase the good stuff. Pictures of Hope  is the website Linda Solomon set up to sell the photos taken by the 9 and 10 year olds at Prince Elementary School last winter.   Juan was one of the photographers.  I was one of the judges.  The cards are just a tad bigger than 4x6 and are printed on slick heavy weight photo paper.  There is writing on the entire back side; you have to plan ahead if you want to write a long letter. The photos are touching and some are terrific but they all carry the promise of hope.  Wishes for  families to be together and for everyone to have good dreams  are fo...

The trucks were here before 8am. Mountain laurel and texas ebony and fringe flower and ocotillo. It hurt when the ocotillo and the texas ebony became entwined.  There were many tools and few fingers involved in separating them from one another. The big boss came out to help me place the plants.  that's him wheeling the dolly. It wasn't long til we called the bigger boss. She came out and told us all what to do. I liked having her around. Some specimens come in black plastic buckets. The bigger ones arrive in wooden containers.   The metal bands are handy for toting and turning. This mountain laurel will keep people from staring into the library as I type to you. At least, that's the plan. It still has some growing to do. There were power tools. There were hand tools. First they cleared the area of debris and ground cover and stones. Neatness counts. Then the power shovel c...